2003 Articles - Rowing in the News

Rowing: Finding Joy in Pulling an Oar
The Pocock Center and Windermere Real Estate hosted its second annual rowing program for at-risk teens (Seattle P.I., May 2, 2003).

Windermere Cup Results
The U.S. Men's team upset the defending Canadian National team, and the Belarus women outrowed the U.W Women's varsity team. But the most exciting finish by far was the Junior Women's Eight, where the seperation between first and last place was only 1.868 seconds (Seattle Times, May 4, 2003). Related Articles:
Some Foreign Rowers Find Seattle Too Good to Leave
Seattle P.I., May 4, 2003)
Changes Pay Off for U.W. Men, Everett Herald, May 4, 2003

Kelly Foster to compete for spot on Junior National Team
Kelly Foster, a junior rowing for Everett Rowing Association, has been invited to be one of 26 rowers in the nation trying out for the Junior National team at Chula Vista, California in June. Last February she set a world record for Junior Women at the World Indoor Rowing Championships in Boston with an erg time of 6:49.40 for 2000 meters (Everett Herald May 6, 2003).

SPU: A Hard Row to Hoe
SPU's Coach Keith Jefferson missed most of the 2003 spring season while on active duty with the U.S. armed forces (Seattle Times, May 7, 2003).

Women from SPU and Gonzaga win at ECAC National Championship
The SPU Women's Four and Gonzaga's Women's Eight both won at the ECAC National Invitational Championship on the Cooper River in Camden, New Jersey (Seattle Times May 12, 2003).

Anne Browning is working toward sculling at Athens
Anne Browning, a CBRC alumni who now trains at the Pocock Center, is ranked 10th in the country in sculling but is woring toward improving that ranking so she can be on the National Team at the Olympics in Athens (Tacoma News-Tribune, May 13, 2003).

U.W. Rowers Aim for History as Careers Wind Down
Three U.W. women rowers, Lauren Estevenin, Carrie Stasiak, and Adrienne Hunter, aim to win four consecutive national championship races.

UW Men win at Pac 10 Championships
The U.W. men placed took first at Lake Natoma, but the Stanford women's eight upset the U.W. Women's eight. (Seattle Times, May 18, 2003).

2003 NW Junior Regional Results
Check here for the results of the N.W. Junior Regionals (Adobe Acrobat Format), courtesy of Row2K.com. For an article in the Everett Herald, check out Everett Rowing Crew Eyes Nationals (Everett Herald 5/20/2003). Also, 27 Cascade Jr. Rowings earn Invite to Nationals (Seattle Times, 5/22/2003).

Learn to Row Day - Northwest Clubs Offer Free Sample
Several Northwest rowing clubs will offer free rowing lessons on National "Learn to Row Day" on May 31st.

DuRoss 3rd, Browning 4th in national selection finals
(Sunday Results) Rowers from the Pocock Center and Lake Washington Rowing Club competed in the National Team Selection Trials - see the link above for details.

Five Northwest Juniors Earn Invites to National Jr. Rowing Selection Camp
Five northwest rowers earned invitations to the National Junior Selection Camp in Chula Vista, California: Courtney White (Cascade Jr. Crew), Jessica McBride (Mt. Baker Jr. Crew), Kelly Foster (Everett Rowing Association), Courtney Plitt (Everett Rowing Association), and Andrea Sooter (Sammamish Rowing Association). Those selected will compete to represent the U.S. on the National Team will compete in the Junior World Championships in Athens, Greece.

W.W.U. Rowers win National Honors
Emily Davis, Katie Miller, and Laurel Kaminski of W.W.U.'s women's varsity eight shell earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association/NCAA Division II honors. The vikings will compete in the Div. II Nationals in Indianapolis.

Kyle Larson works his way into UW Varsity Eight (Everett Herald 28May2003)
Larson proves to be a cut above for U.W. Crew Seattle Times 30May2003)
Kyle Larson tried out for the U.W. men's rowing program last year without any prior rowing experience, and after hard work earned a spot in the U.W. Varsity Eight.

U.W. Rower Lauren Estevenin is Most at Home on the Water
U.W Women's varsity stroke Lauren Estevenin holds dual U.S. and French citizenship, but shows her real determination on the water. (Seattle P.I., 30May2003).

King County Executive Ron Sims and rowing legend Stan Pocock (photo above) share stories with prospective rowers at the kick-off of National Learn to Row Day, May 31 at Seattle’s Pocock Rowing Center. Over 150 prospective rowers attended events at Sammamish Rowing Association in Redmond, Mt. Baker Rowing Center, Lake Washington Rowing Club and The Pocock Rowing Center in Seattle. Sims shared his views on the importance self-confidence and team work in our life experiences as well as in rowing with attendees including several area Olympians at the Pocock Rowing Center. (Photo Credit: Lenny Kong, www.greenlakecrew.org

U.W. Men Rowers Take Three Medals at I.R.A. National Championships
The U.W. men's rowers took first in the varsity four, second in the varsity eight, second in the J.V. Eight, and fourth in the freshman eight at the I.R.A. finals in Camden, N.J. (Everett Herald 01June2003)

Northwest Rowers Place Well at World Cup of Rowing
Former U.W. rower Anna Mickelson helped the United States win gold in the women's eight at the World Cup stop in Milan, Italy. Erik Miller of Renton helped the U.S. win bronze in men's lightweight four without coxswain. Sarah Jones of Stanwood was sixth in the final of women's double sculls (Seattle Times, 01June2003).

U.W., Wash. State, and Western Washington women rowers all earn medals at NCAA championships
The U.W. women's varsity eight took fourth place in the final race on Sunday in the NCAA Div. I championships, placing them in third place overall behind Harvard (1st) and Brown (2nd). Washington State finished twelth in their first appearance in the championships. Western Washington University finished second behind UC-Davis in the NCAA Div. II finals (Seattle Times, 2June2003).

Everett Club a Rising Star in Rowing (Everett Herald 03June2003)
Rowers Pull Everett to Prominence (Seattle Times 04June2003)
The Everett Rowing Association will have three boats in Cincinnati this week for the U.S.Rowing Youth Invitational (Nationals). This is the second year three boats from Everett have qualified for Nationals. In 2001 the Everett women's lightweight eight took home the national championship from Cincinnati.

Huskies and Cougers Reap Rowing Honors
U.W. rowing coach Bob Ernst was named Men's Coach of the Year, and seven Huskies (men and women) earned first-team, all-conference honors yesterday in Pac-10 rowing. Washington State also had three women named to the all-conference team (Seattle P.I. 06June2003)

U.T.'s Katie Bargreen and U.W.s Lauren Estevenin named to All-America Team (Everett Herald June 10, 2003).
Katie Bargreen and Lauren Estavenin have both been named to the first All-American Team by the Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association. Katie Bargreen is a former Everett rower and a Lake Stevens High School graduate, Lauren Estevenin is a sophomore at the University of Washington.

Northwest Junior Rowers Medal at Cincinnati
Northwest junior crew teams took home three medals at the US Rowing Invitational in Cincinnati, including Green Lake Crew (2nd in Junior Men's 8+), Lakeside School Crew (3rd in Jr. Women's 4+), and Everett Rowing Association (3rd in Jr. Men's Lightweight 8+). In the Jr. Women's 8+, Everett took 4th and Sammamish Rowing Association took 5th (Seattle Times, 09June2003). See also:
Everett Rowing Wins Bronze at US Rowing Youth Invitational (Everett Herald 11June2003).
Cascade Jr. Crews Sweep Petite Finals (The Enterprise, 13June2003

Jan Harville Retiring as U.W. Women's Crew Coach (Seattle P.I. 13June2003)
Harville Leaving a Lofty Legacy (Seattle P.I., 17June2003)
After 16 seasons, the coach of the Univ. of Washington's most successful athletic program has announced her retirement as coach of the U.W. Women's Crew program. Eleanor McElvaine, current U.W. freshman coach, is rumored to be the top candidate for the position (Seattle P.I., June 13, 2003).

High Brow Sports Seek Diversity
Rowing is one of the sports seeking to expand its reach to disadvantaged and minority youth, as this USA Today article discusses the Pocock Center's program (USA Today June 17, 2003).

Husky Rowers head for Henley Royal Regatta
Univ. of Washington rowers will compete in the Henley Royal Regatta July 2-6 (Seattle Times, 21June2003).

Browning, Peterson advance in Pan Am Game team trials
Anne Borwning (Pocock Center) and Tyler Peterson (Lake Washington) advanced in the Pan Am Game team trails in doubles sculling (Seattle Times 22June2003).

Local Rowers Win Medals at World Cup in Munich
Sara Jones of Stanwood, Washington and Anna Mickelson of Bellevue, Washington earned medals at the World Cup stop in Munich, Germany (Seattle Times, 23June2003)

Northwest Lightweight Crews Earn Pan Am Berths
Tyler Peterson and Evan Jacobs of Lake Washington Crew earned a berth on the U.S. Team as Lightweight Men's Doubles. Pocock lighweight women's rowers also took the quadruple sculls berth, including rowers Wendy Campanella, Jen Edwards, Sarah Hirst, and Anne Finke (Seattle Times June 25, 2003).

J.Sloan Duross and Conal Groom to compete at Pan Am Games
J.Sloan Duross and Conal Groom (photo above), rowers from the Pocock Center in Seattle, have earned the right to compete for the U.S. at the Pan Am Games in the Dominican Republic Aug. 4th - 10th (Seattle Times, June 26, 2003).

U.S. Women's Eight Wins at World Cup regatta in Munich
The U.S. Women's Eight took first place at the World Cup regatta in Munich (Seattle Times, June 22, 2003).

Bainbridge Island Jr. 3rd in Jr. National Time Trials
Francis Toglia, 16, a member of the Bainbridge Island Rowing Club, finished third in the singles event at the men's Junior National Team Trials in Princeton, N.J. (Seattle Times, 30June2003).

U.W. Rowers advance at Henley
The U.W. Men's Four took first in the preliminary heats at the Royal Henly Regatta, and the Men's Eight is scheduled for its first heat on Friday (Seattle P.I., July 3, 2003).

U.W. Rowers Take the Cup at Henley
The U.W. Varsity Eight took first place at the Royal Henley Regatta on the Thames river (Seattle Times, July 7, 2003).

ERA to conduct special "Learn to Row" on Silver Lake
Everett Rowing Association, in conjuction with the Pocock Center, will conduct a special "learn to row" class on Silver Lake in Everett, Washington on Sunday, July 15th, with proceeds to go to the Special Olympics. The Pocock Center will be providing the use of the 16-oar rowing barge for the event.

Foster and Plitt prepare to compete in Greece
Kelly Foster and Courtney Plitt, both rowing out of the Everett Rowing Association, prepare to compete in Greece in August as part of the U.S. team competing at the World Jr. Rowing Championships (Everett Herald, July 9, 2003). Other Northwest rowers who were invited to attend the U.S. Rowing Jr. Selection Camp included Jessica McBride (Mt. Baker), Lindsay McQuid (Oregon Rowing Unlimited), Adnrea Sooter (Sammamish), Courtney White (Cascade Jr. Rowing), and Molley Evjen as a coxswain (Oregon Rowing Unlimited). US Rowing Jr. Women's Selection Camp Invitations

John Stillings named Coxswain for Pan American Games
Seattle's John Stillings, a Pocock Center rower, has been selected to be the coxswain for the U.S. men's eight crew at the Pan American Games Aug. 4-10, at Rincon Lake in the Dominican Republic. Stillings previously won gold and silver medals in the 1984 Olympics (Seattle Times 12July2003).

Jan Harville Rows Her Boat Into Retirement
Jan Harville, the most successful U.W. coach ever, slips into retirment as U.W. Women's Crew Coach (Seattle Times, 14July2003).

Northwest Rowers Earn Berths in World Championship Trials
Steve Gillespie of Renton and Brett Wilkinson of the Potomic Rowing Club won the men's double sculls at the World Championships Trials for Olympic-class boats. J. Sloan DuRoss and Conal Groom of Seattle's Pocock Rowing took second. Pocock's Carol Skricki and Anne Browning were second in the women's double sculls. The top three finishers advanced to today's second final. The winners will compete at the 2003 FISA World Championships August 24 -31 in Milan, Itlay.

Oregon Rowers Medal at Nationals
Kate Johnson and Quinn Sivage of Oregon Rowing Unlimited found their way to the medals stand at the U.S. Rowing Jr. Championships in Camden, N.J. (30July2003).

Eight Washington Rowers in Pan Am Games
Eight Washington state rowers, including 48-year-old coxswain John Stillings of Edmonds, will represent the United States at the 2003 Pan American Games Aug. 4-10 in the Dominican Republic (Seattle Times, 31July2003).

Gillespie and Wilkinson win men's double sculls heat at US Rowing National Championship Regatta
Steve Gillespie of Renton and Brett Wilkinson won their elite men's double sculls heat at the USRowing National Championship Regatta on the Cooper River yesterday in New Jersey. They will represent the U.S. at the World Championships next month in Milan, Italy (Seattle Times, 25July2003)

Sammamish Jr. Rowers win Quadriple Sculls Championship
Sammamish Rowing Association defended its title in junior women's B quadruple sculls yesterday at the USRowing National Championships on the Cooper River in Cherry Hill, N.J. Crew members were Jenny Cromwell, Kari Stenbakken, Kelly Amsler and Jessica Linnekohl. Briana Beacom from Seattle's Pocock Rowing Center also took third in lightweight senior sculls (Seattle P.I. 26July2003).

Julie Nichols wins LW Women's Sculls FISA Championship
Julia Nichols of Seattle's Pocock Rowing Center swept her best-of-three finals series yesterday in the lightweight women's single sculls trials to earn a spot on the United States national rowing team for the world championships. The FISA World Championships are Aug. 24-31 in Milan, Italy (Seattle Times, 27July2003)

Four Northwest rowers make US Rowing Jr. National Team
Four Northwest rowers made the US Rowing Jr. National Team which will compete in Greece August 5-9: Will Lippett (Green Lake Crew), Keely Foster and Courtney Pitt (Everett Rowing Assoc.), and Andrea Sooter (Sammammish Rowing Assoc.), (Seattle P.I. 19July2003).

Masters 50+ Regatta now part of Senior Games
The Senior Games to be held in Olympia on July 27 will include a rowing event for masters rowers, age 50 and over, at the Budd Inlet. The couse will be 1000 meters, starting at 1:00 p.m. (For more info, click on the link above or call (360) 413-0148.

Doornick to compete at World Championships
Dale Doornick, a paraplegic rower from Monroe, Washington, has been selected as a member of the U.S. Adaptive Rowing Team for the second Adaptive World Championships, August 24 - 30 in Milan, Italy (Everett Herald, 15July2003).

Cutting into Morning: Calm comes in the Catch, Drive, and Feather
A great article in the Seattle Times about Masters Rowing (Seattle Times, 01Aug2003).

High Winds Swamp Boats at Athens
High Winds hampered the first test of the new rowing facility at Athens, swamping the U.S. and British shells in the World Jr. Rowing Championships (Seattle P.I. 6August2003).

Northwest Rowers advance to Finals in Pan Am Games
Lake Washington Rowing Club's Tyler Peterson and Evan Jacobs advanced to the finals in the lightweight men's double sculls; and Pocock Center's Sarah Hirst and Anne Finke (of Potomac Boat Club) advanced to Saturday's finals in the lightweight women's double sculls (Seattle Times, 5 August 2003).

Sammamish Rowers Head to Masters National Championships
Sammamish Rowers Dan Voicu, Sandra McGinnis, and Christian Petculescu are heading to the Masters National Championships in Cordova, California Aug. 21 - 24th.

Northwest Rowers bring Home Gold from Pan Am Games (Seattle Times, 10Aug2003)
ORHS Grad Earns Medals (Oak Ridger, 11Aug2003)
Dave Friedericks of Port Townsend won silver at the Pan Am games as part of the Men's Four; Sarah Hirst of the Pocock Center (together with Anne Finke of Potomic Rowing) brought home the bronze in Lightweight Women's Double Sculls; and Conal Groom and J. Sloan DuRoss won bronze in the men's double sculls (Seattle Times 10August2003).

Men's Eight Takes Gold at Pan Am Games (Seattle Times, 11Aug2003)
Former WWU Rower Wins Gold at Pan Am Games (Bellingham Herald, 11Aug2003)
The U.S. Men's Eight + is bringing home the gold medal from the Pan Am Games, including coxswain John Stillings of Edmonds, Washington (Pocock Center) and Dave Friedericks of Port Townsend, Washington.

U.S. Jr. Women take 2nd at World Jr. Rowing Championships in Athens
Everett Rowing's Kelly Foster and Courtney Plitt were in the U.S. Women's Eight that took silver at the World Junior Rowing Championships in Athens (Everett Herald 11August03).

Rowers to Benefit Historical Society"
Rowers of all types will row across the Tacoma Narrows to benefit the Gig Harbor Historical Society on Sept. 13th. (Seattle Times, 14Aug2003).

U.W. Names Eleanor McElvaine as Head Women's Rowing Coach
The Univ. of Washington named Eleanor McElvaine as the Head Women's Rowing Coach. The Everett native and Hall of Fame U.W. rower has been novice coach at the U.W. since 1990 (Seattle P.I., 14AUG2003).

Stillings credits a new attitude toward recent coxing success
John Stillings, Olympic silver rowing medalist and coxswain for the gold medal 2003 U.S. Men's Eight at the Pan Am Games, talks about his attitude change (Seattle Times, 20August2003).

Sammamish Masters Earn Bronze at Championships
Sammamish Rowers Sandra McGinnis and Dan Voicu both earned bronze medals in the Mixed Masters 2X (A & B) at the U.S. rowing Masters National Championships at Rancho Cordova, California Aug. 21-24 (24Aug2003).

Renton Rowers Eric Miller and Steve Gillespie win Olympic Berths (seattle Times, 30Aug2003)
Renton natives Eric Miller and Steve Gillespie won berths in the 2004 Olympics by placing 2nd in the Lightweight Men's Four and 4th in the Men's Double Scullers at the 2003 FISA World Rowing Championships.

U.S. team Wins Gold at World Rowing Championships in Italy
The U.S. won medals in Women's Coxless 4 and Men's Coxed Pairs at the World Rowing Championships in Italy. More rowing takes place this weekend (Seattle P.I. 30Aug2003).

Dan Doornek recalls "Golden Experience" (Seattle Times 17Sept2003).
Dan Doornek reflects on his experiences in Italy in the first world championships for disabled rowers.

U.W. Coach Eleanor McElvaine Named Assistant Coach of the Year
The Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association recently announced that Eleanor McElvaine of the University of Washington has been named the 2002-03 Division I Assistant Coach of the Year. Ms. McElvaine was recently promoted to Head Coach for the U.W. Women's Crew program, and is a former U.W. rower and Cascade High School graduate (Everett Herald 21Sept2003).

Sammamish Rowing Receives Grant for Boathouse
Sammamish Rowing Association received a $50,000 grant from King County for use in building a boathouse. The grant must be matched by funds raised by the club (Seattle Times, Oct. 7, 2003).

NCAA Considers Penalizing Schools with Poor Graduation Rates
The NCAA is considering imposing sanctions on college sports programs with poor graduation rates (Seattle Times, 08Oct2003). (Aside: Perhaps this will lead to a move to make men's rowing an NCAA sport, as rowers typically have much higher graduation rates than other sports.)

Trans-Atlantic Rowing Challenge
Sixteen rowboats left the Canaray Islands on Sept. 19th in a 2,900 mile race to Barbados (Seattle Times, 21Oct2003).

British Rower Celebrates 57th Birthday In-Route to S. Africa
British rower Jim Shekhdar is rowing solo from New Zealand to South Africa, and he celebrated his 56th birthday nine days into the trip (Seattle P.I., 13Nov2003).

Water World - 100 Years of Washington Rowing
The Nov. 17th, 2003 Issue of Sports Illustrated has an article devoted to rowing in Washington state. The link above is to the web article, but the newstand copy is said to include pictures. (Sports Illustrated, 17Nov2003).

Everett and the Sport of Rowing
Everett Rowing Association has begun to make it's name in the national rowing community, with respectable finishes at Nationals and junior rowers who are highly recruited for rowing scholarships (Everett Herald 18Nov2003).

Head of the Charles Results
Some Northwest rowers had the good luck to be at the Head of the Charles regatta last weekend. A few of the local rowers placing well:
* USRowing shell, 2nd Women's Championship Eights (including Anna Mickelson of Bellevue);
* USRowing Princton Training Cntr, 3rd in Women's Championship Eights (including Lianne Nelson of Seattle and Kara Nykreim of Kirkland);
* Conal Groom and J.Sloan Duross from Pocock Rowing Center, placing within top 10 of Men's sculling;
* Pocock Rowing Center, 1st in Men's Master Eights;
* Lake Union Crew, 1st in Women's Master Eights;
* Victoria City Rowing Club, 2nd in Men's Championship Eights and 1st in Men's Championship 4's.

U.W. breaks ground on Boathouse Renovation
The Univ. of Washington is starting its renovation of the Conibear Shellhouse (Seattle P.I., Dec. 19, 2003).

Everett's Kelly Foster Wins Gold in Paris
Kelly Foster, a rower with Everett Rowing Association and a Lake Stevens resident, won a gold medal at the European Indoor Rowing Championships on Dec. 14 in Paris with a time of 6.53.7 seconds to win the junior women's division. Foster is the American record-holder for 2,000 meters on the ergometer in the women's 14-18 age division with a time of 6:48.3. (Everett Herald 23Dec2003)